The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an alien convicted for aiding and abetting a theft offense can be deported under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, Luis Alexander Duenas-Alvarez, a legal permanent resident, pleaded guilty to the unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle in violation of California law - Cal. Veh. Code Ann. Â§10851(a) - and the Department of Homeland Security took steps to remove him from the country under the INA, specifically under 8 USC Â§1101(a)(43)(G). The immigration judge hearing the case and the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Duenas-Alvarez's appeal, but the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit disagreed in light of its recent decision in Penuliar v. Ashcroft, where the Ninth Circuit held that violating Â§10851(a) of the California Vehicle Code is not a theft offense under the INA.

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